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Anna Maxwell Martin takes on an intimidating new role that’s miles away from Motherland in this gripping Apple TV drama

The new Cold War thriller features some very recognisable names.

Apple TV’s highly anticipated For All Mankind spin-off Star City is finally here and has received rave reviews across the board.

Taking viewers back to the 1970s in this alternate version of history in which the Soviet Union won the space-race, the series picks up with the Russian politicians, engineers, cosmonauts, and KGB agents overseeing more missions to the Moon.

While the USSR is still basking in the victory of becoming the first nation to put a man on the Moon in 1969, tensions are running high as the threat of the US still looms large during the Cold War.

The series begins today (Friday, 29th May) with six more episodes coming each Friday until a riveting finale on 10th July.

But who is in the cast of Star City? From a major sitcom star to actors from some of the most acclaimed dramas of the past few years, let’s take a closer look at where you’ve seen them before.

Star City’s main cast

Rhys Ifans – Chief Designer

Welsh film and TV icon Rhys Ifans portrays the secretive figure at the head of the Star City program, known only as the chief designer.

You’ll have seen him recently as Otto Hightower in House of the Dragon, HBO’s popular Game of Thrones spin-off, as well as portraying Xenophilius Lovegood in the Harry Potter franchise and as Curt Connors/The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man, a role he reprised in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

His performance as comedy legend Peter Cook in Channel 4’s Not Only But Always won him a BAFTA TV award, and he is also well-known for his role as Spike in Notting Hill opposite Hugh Grant.

Anna Maxwell Martin – Lyudmilla Raskova

Anna Maxwell Martin plays the head of Star City’s KGB surveillance department, Lyudmilla Raskova, in a performance the Guardian has described as “terrifying”.

Martin has appeared in a huge range of popular British dramas, including Line of Duty, Ludwig, and ITV’s Until I Kill You, which won her an International Emmy Award.

She has also won BAFTA TV Awards for her roles in Bleak House and Poppy Shakespeare and is well-known among comedy fans for playing Julia Johnstone in the hit BBC sitcom Motherland.

Agnes O’Casey – Irina Morozova

Irina Morozova, a recent KGB recruit at Star City, is portrayed by English and Irish actress Agnes O’Casey.

O’Casey has landed supporting roles in major dramas in the 2020s, including Dangerous Liaisons, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, and Netflix’s Black Doves.

On the big screen she has appeared in Small Things Like These with Cillian Murphy and in The Miracle Club, Dame Maggie Smith’s final film.

Alice Englert – Anastasia Belikova

Anastasia Belikova is an untested female cosmonaut in the Soviet space program and portrayed by Australian actress Alice Englert.

Previously best known for her film roles, she has appeared in Ginger & Rosa with Elle Fanning, Beautiful Creatures with Alden Ehrenreich, and Netflix’s The Power of the Dog with Benedict Cumberbatch, which was directed by her mother Jane Campion.

Englert also appeared with O’Casey in Dangerous Liaisons, as well as BBC’s The Serpent and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and made her directorial debut with the 2023 film Bad Behaviour starring Jennifer Connelly.

Solly McLeod – Sasha Polivanov

Sasha Polivanov is described as “a reckless cosmonaut who has yet to live up to his potential” and is portrayed by Solly McLeod.

McLeod is a British actor known for playing the title role in ITV’s adaptation of Tom Jones, and has also played Ser Joffrey Lonmouth in two episode of House of the Dragon with Star City co-star Ifans.

He is also set to appear in the major upcoming films Practical Magic 2 and Anxious People, adapted from the bestselling novel by Fredrik Backman.

Adam Nagaitis – Valya Mironov

In contrast to Sasha, Valya is a respected cosmonaut in the Star City program brought to life by British actor Adam Nagaitis. Nagaitis previously portrayed a Russian firefighter in HBO’s acclaimed miniseries Chernobyl.

He has also appeared in the film The Last Duel with Matt Damon and Adam Driver, as well as TV series The Responder, The Agency and A Thousand Blows.

Ruby Ashbourne Serkis – Tanya Mironova

Ruby Ashbourne Serkis is the actress daughter of The Lord of the Rings star Andy Serkis and will be portraying Tanya, the wife of one of Star City’s cosmonauts.

She has previously appeared in TV series Shardlake and I, Jack Wright, as well as two recent Cillian Murphy films; Netflix’s Steve and the Peaky Blinders movie, The Immortal Man.

Josef Davies – Sergei Nikulov

Josef Davies portrays Sergei Nikulov, a young engineering prodigy working at Soviet Ground Control. Davies is best known as Sören in Young Wallander and he has also appeared in Andor, Grace, and Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, as well as the hit WWI film 1917.

Supporting cast and guest stars

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Star City also features an extensive cast of supporting stars. They include:

• David Dencik (The Assassin) as Maxim Tarasov
• Eliot Salt (Rivals) as Vika Yegorova
• Ellie Piercy as Galina
• Robin Berry as Rem Balabanov
• Chris Leaney as Viktor
• Eadie Johnson as Zoya Morozova
• Aurelijus Pocius as Zhenya

There are also some major names and rising stars making guest appearances throughout the first season. They include:

• Niamh Algar (The Iris Affair) as Yana Akhmatova
• Jenny Walser (Heartstopper) as Leonova
• Sam Strike (Outer Range) as Pavel Fetisov
• Ian Drysdale as Doctor Borovsky
• Sam Wilkinson as Alexei Leonov
• Neringa Bulotaité as Natalia Ivanovna
• Sean Gilder as Vladimir Belikov
• Jamie de Courcey as Stanislav Kalinsky
• Fadily Camara as Celine
• Michael James as Galytzin
• Šarūnas Datenis as Arkady
• Priya Kansara (Bridgerton) as Lakshmi, a gifted scientist

Star City continues Fridays on Apple TV.

The epic period war drama has enthralled critics and audiences world-over, earning glowing praise from all quarters, with viewers comparing it to the brilliance of Gladiator.

Fans of iconic filmmaker Ridley Scott and his cult classic Gladiator are in for a treat, because there’s another film by the director that viewers feel is giving his OG period war masterpiece a run for its money. With a screenplay penned by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Nicole Holofcener, the 2021 epic historical war drama has enthralled critics and audiences world-over, earning glowing praise from all quarters — and it’s streaming on Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.

Viewers can’t stop raving about Scott’s 2021 film, The Last Duel, which stars Jodie Comer ( Killing Eve ) in the titular role, alongside Adam Driver and Damon. Affleck also has a supporting role in the movie, and the stars are joined by Harriet Walter, Alex Lawther, and Serena Kennedy to round out a stellar supporting cast.

Filmed in France and Ireland, Scott’s epic period drama is one that most people haven’t heard of, owing to its release during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2021.

Based on true events, the film’s official plot summary states: “Jean de Carrouges is a respected knight known for his bravery and skill on the battlefield. Jacques Le Gris is a Norman squire whose intelligence and eloquence make him one of the most admired nobles in court. The two knights must fight to the death after Carrouges’s wife, Marguerite, accuses Le Gris of assault. The ensuing trial by combat, a gruelling duel to the death, places the fate of all three in God’s hands.”

Garnering largely positive reviews from both critics and audiences, The Last Duel has made its mark, especially when it comes to the period war drama genre.

One critic said of the film: “A brutal, harrowing, intriguing, stunningly well-made film that will linger in your thoughts for quite some time.”

While another reviewer lavished praise on the director: “Ridley Scott delivers one of his best works in years with this brutal, righteous, superbly acted historical drama.”

A third critic said of the historical epic: “With the stakes set so high, Scott rises to the challenge and delivers a brutal, visceral ‘last duel’ with complex narrative designs and a phenomenal carousel of performances.”

While one reviewer simply declared: “Trust us when we say this is a cinematic epic.”

Audience reviews follow in a similar vein, with one fan saying: “A classic Ridley Scott’s work. A masterpiece.”

While another viewer writes: “Brilliant historic epic, beautifully filmed and captivating characters. If you like historical dramas, this is a great film for you”

A glowing IMDB user review of The Last Duel states: “Ridley Scott is the Master of this Genre for a reason. Best director you can find for this kind of visual storytelling is Ridley Scott, and believe me, he’s still top of his game. To be honest, I don’t think that Gladiator was a best picture because of Ridley’s effort, I think it was Russel’s incredible performance. But this movie shines because of Ridley’s awesome visual style.”

While another impressed audience member commented: “[Ridley] Scott certainly gives us a big, bloody and savage movie. Indeed of all his films, this could be the one most likely to appeal to fans of ‘Gladiator’. It’s a fantastic-looking film. There is so much about ‘The Last Duel’ that is smart, funny and totally unexpected that it just might turn out to be the most unlikely multiplex movie of the year.”

Another IMDB review of the period drama (and Ridley Scott’s brilliance) states: “This is, I think it could be argued, in the absolute top tier of Ridley Scott’s filmmaking oeuvre. More than that — and this might be more controversial, but I stand by it — I think it’s his best film, and that it isn’t close.

“This is a Rashomon-style multiple-viewpoints epic with lavish production values, superb acting across the board from a powerhouse cast, and supremely subtle and skilful directing. It is thoughtful, impactful cinema that should be part of the conversation about the best outings in historical filmmaking.”

The Last Duel is available to stream on Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.

It’s hard to believe, as Matt Damon noted in his monologue in this week’s “Saturday Night Live,” that the actor of this summer’s “The Odyssey” has only guest hosted three times during his lengthy career. (In case you’re wondering, his frequent writing and acting partner Ben Affleck has hosted five times.)

That’s a shame because Damon checks all the boxes for what an A-list actor should do when they host the show: be super present, take every opportunity to do the silliest sketches without seeming uncomfortable, and bring at least some of their acting chops to bear to give otherwise lightweight sketches a little extra gravitas or emotion.

Damon did all that and helped start the show off with an extra jolt of energy by returning as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the cold open, along with last week’s ringer, Aziz Ansari as FBI Director Kash Patel.

Not every sketch worked, like an early Godzilla parody set in a command center that was simply a series of increasingly anticipated spit takes on poor Mikey Day. Things improved when Damon played himself in a pre-taped sketch about a movie made just for moms ahead of Mother’s Day; mom’s fantasy? No conflict among the kids and a blissful marriage to Matt Damon.

Damon also played one of a trio of middle-aged men (including Marcello Hernández and Kenan Thompson) constantly getting beat up by “tough guys” who are sometimes just children. He also played a frustrated dad in a strange cat litter commercial, a substitute teacher trying to get a classroom of students to dance (unsuccessfully) and, memorably, an auctioneer in a fight with his auctioneer wife (Sarah Sherman). In these sketches in particular, Damon’s acting skills helped elevate the characters he played, grounding them in sadness or frustration. It definitely helped.

The “Odyssey” might turn out to be the summer’s biggest movie hit. If that’s the case, let’s hope Matt Damon isn’t kept from hosting “SNL” for so long after this week’s solid job.

Musical guest Noah Kahan performed “The Great Divide” and “Doors.”

At Martin’s Tavern in Washington, D.C., Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost) returned yet again to shout-bark at those around him, brag about the Iran War he claims he started and, of course, talk about drinking alcohol. But this time, he was joined by his apparent drinking buddy Kavanaugh, who held a gavel and immediately ordered a “six-three decision” (six beers, three shots of Jameson whiskey). Glowing in their victories, Hegseth bellowed, “Can you believe I just started a war?” Kavanaugh replied, “Can you believe I ended abortion? Your body, my choice!” Kavanaugh went on to show off what at first looked like a dinosaur-shaped district map for Tennessee before revealing it’s his field sobriety test, when he was asked to draw a circle. Kavanaugh bemoaned the male loneliness crisis just before they were joined by Patel, who cried, “Does this bar take Kaaaaash?” Patel showed off the bourbon that bears his name. (“Somehow this is a real thing that I, the FBI director, have made. This is real!”) Kavanaugh revealed a secret: that the court is going to let Trump do a third term. “Trump found the original Constitution and on the end, he wrote, ‘Psych!’ ” The three ended the sketch by singing Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumbing” with its callouts of their drink orders.

Damon previewed his upcoming film, even though he had to mention several times that “The Odyssey” won’t be out for another nine weeks. He also had to break the news that the lovely “SNL” tradition of bringing on moms of cast members wouldn’t be happening this year due to Spirit Airlines shutting down. It turns out, after an audience member (“SNL” writer Jack Bensinger) asks, that only Hernández’s mom was able to make it. Damon then recorded a video message to moms out there for anyone who didn’t get a gift for them. “You deserve a night out… nine weekends from now,” he said, suggesting the movie would make a great date night.

Best sketch of the night: Do I hear best sketch of the night? Sold!

A sketch as gimmicky as this one — in which the premise is two auctioneers (Damon and Sherman) are having a marriage-ending fight — only works if the performers are up to the task, and luckily both Damon and Sherman navigated the super-fast dialogue expertly and without looking like they were eyeing cue cards the entire time. The two went back and forth, auctioneering a discussion about weight, infidelity, drinking, their sex life and, eventually, terms of their divorce in front of their four young sons (who, adorably, hold up little numbered signs. Yes, they were played by adult cast members.). Even for “SNL” and for the last-sketch-of-the-night slot, it was a bold sketch for live TV and Damon and Sherman expertly walked the tightrope on this one.

Also good: Your mom will only make it through 23 minutes of this

“SNL” is no stranger to spiky sketch comedy takes on motherhood: remember “Mom Jeans?” For this year’s Mother’s Day take, it presented “Mom: The Movie,” a film devoid of conflict or dramatic tension because “Moms have enough stress. Why not let them feel good for a day?” Ashley Padilla plays the mom in the film, enjoying argument-free time with her kids (Jeremy Culhane, Tommy Brennan and Veronika Slowikowska), who only deliver good news. She’s married to Matt Damon, making her Rhonda Damon, and they met when he noticed her giant turquoise necklace after a movie screening. The film is streaming where moms are expected to find it: on HomeGoods Plus.

‘Weekend Update’ winner: This ‘Update’ segment is bananas — the round kind

This week’s “Update” featured three guest segments. Hernández and Day played kamikaze dolphins who work for the government, giving them a sense of porpoise (their joke, not mine). Jane Wickline expressed her anger at people caring that she’s always late in a funny musical rant. But Culhane’s return as Tucker Carlson continued a dead-on impersonation that covered several topics, including the Met Gala’s wild outfits, the new Michael Jackson biopic, and why eating round bananas is less gay than eating traditionally shaped ones. Culhane’s impression is a thing of beauty, and this time it leaned harder into Carlson’s tendency to express things from a very white point of view. In describing ASAP Rocky’s pink robe from the Met Gala, he said the performer was, “Wearing my least favorite color … African-American.”